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Move Wiring rack

10th July 2007, 15:55

Hello all! The company I work for has been doing lots of remodeling and expansion of our server room. One of the final things we need to do is move our main wiring rack about 10 feet. There is enough cable (we have 20ft service loops in the ceiling) I am just wondering how you oh great and wonderful forum members would go about this task Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance!

When we move the 4507R we will also be fixing the cabling on it as NO cable management has ever been done on it We will also be replacing one of the blades in that switch with a PoE blade for our phone system. We will need to move 11 devices from the blade that is being replaced to another blade.

Our cabling is in need of some serious work, the person I replaced has done one heck of a job messing it up There are several lines that are not even patched into a patch panel, they are just laying on the floor with ends on them, then plugged into the switch. We are planning on our entire site LAN being down but fortunatley we don't work weekends here so we have an entire weekend to get this done.

I am confident that we can do all of the moving, the only part of this that I don't have much experience with is moving cabling. We are going to have to unplug all of the cables from the patch panels and punch them down again (At least that is what I think as we have to re-work the cables through the ceiling a bit.) If you need anymore info I am happy to supply it. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Thanks for the quick reply biggles. I will be certain to include more information next time I post.

Comment

Oh boy, I have done this all of twice, but both cases where nasty. If you can at all avoid removing cables that need punch down then do so. In one case I was able to thread the patch panel (barely) back through the vent hole (where a fan usually goes). But regardless you will have to tag every single cable (network switches can be grouped) with its location before you unplug it.

I recommend getting address labels and printing a description or serial number and sticking it on the cable. After stickering, before you unplug, log each cable tag so that you can easily return it to its location. You have to intimately familiar with the setup so when you come across issues (and you will) you can figure it out quickly.

Plan for extra time if you will have to repunch them down especially if you are not familiar with punch down.

Oh, and take pictures, the before and after is sweet . AND POST THEM BACK HERE

Comment

Not that I have any experience in moving a wiring rack (yet), but I plan for the extreme worse. If you can have the 46 U in place while the 42 is in place, the better. I'd like everyone's opinions on this idea:

Move one piece of equipment at a time if possible, and keep connectivity between them. In otherwords, if you have to stop halfway through for an emergency or whatnot, it can be back fully online within a small amount of time, albeit with a mess of wires stretching between the machines.

Re-doing it all from scratch and/or cleaning up at the same time is great in theory, but who knows how long it'll REALLY take. Start Friday, and DO NOT GO HOME EARLY! Stay late. Get as much done as possible. THEN get some sleep and come back the next day, and grind out as much as possible. It'll be hell, but at least when something goes wrong at the end, you'll have a decent amount of time to get it fixed.

** Remember to give credit where credit is due and leave reputation points where appropriate **

Comment

I really do hope for you that you can move the patch panels without removing the cables. 192 blocks is a lot of cable to punch. (1536 punch downs assuming each one is a clean single stroke) If you have to remove the cables from the panels then I suggest you get a professional cabler in to re punch them. They will be a whole lot faster and neater than you will be, though by cable 40 you will be getting pretty good.

And to echo the rest of the world...........PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One small addendum to Wired's post. Depending one how far you live from work, it may be worth sleeping at work. Will save travel time that could be better utilised on this move. Of course if you don't have a shower at work.........go home! Lastly, do NOT work when too tired. Tired people make b i g g e r mistakes than non tired people.

Last edited by biggles77; 11th July 2007, 08:23.
Reason: Add more sage advice

1 1 was a racehorse.
2 2 was 1 2.
1 1 1 1 race 1 day,
2 2 1 1 2

Comment

Thanks for all of the reply's! We actually did have a cabling company come in and give a quote to move all of the patch panels and mount the new rack etc. They quoted us 2100 US dollars to move all equipment. I will have to patch all of the ports in though. I think we may go this route as I don't want to have to punch everything down. I will Definetley take before and after pics. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I believe we will be doing this move on July 27th-July 29th.

Comment

Good advice! Thanks. I will watch over them like a hawk and be a slave driver I am actually planning on helping them as I would love to have some experience with this sort of thing. I am sure that I will have to do it again.....someday.